Origins of This Iconic Dish.
Sweet and sour pork is one of the most iconic Chinese dishes around the world. You can find it in traditional Chinese restaurants and you can find it in affordable Chinese American cuisine as well. Learn the sweet sour pork history and how it made its way across the ocean.
Sweet Sour Pork History and its Origins throughout China
Chinese Origins
Sweet and sour pork is one of those iconic dishes that does not have a definitive origin story. Multiple regions in China claim to have the first recipe including Henan in central China, Jiangsu in northeastern China, and Canton in the south.
In all cases, these provinces do have a sweet sour dipping sauce made of vinegar and sugar. However, it is the Cantonese origins that most closely resemble what we know of as sweet and sour pork.
Created in Canton
Guangdong and Hong Kong in the Canton region were home to one of the biggest and busiest ports in China. This welcomed in foreign products, such as the tomatoes, pineapples, and bell peppers used in sweet and sour pork.
A basic sweet and sour pork consists of deep-fried pork chunks with onions, green bell peppers, and pineapples mixed together with a sweet and sour sauce.
Cantonese origins from the 1800s documented chefs using local hawthorn berries and preserved plums to color the vinegar and sugar sauce. Later, Hong Kong chefs used ketchup and Worcestershire sauces as their blend. It is important to note that the origins of ketchup and the anchovy-based Worcestershire sauce came from ancient China.
Chinese-American Beginnings
The dish popularized in China and then went global as the first wave of Chinese immigrants crossed the Pacific to California to construct the railroads for the Gold Rush in the late 1800s.
A few decades later, the dish further expanded around the world during World War II with Americans and Europeans savoring the dish. Today, you can find sweet and sour pork practically anywhere, whether it’s the sweetened American version or the classic Chinese creation.
Sign up for my newsletter on the sidebar for blog updates and my travel insider tips! And, check out my vlogs on YouTube!
